UP: Taking Ophthalmic Administrators and Their Management Teams to the Next Level of Skill, Performance and Career Satisfaction, Second Edition

Like having an expert mentor in your pocket, UP is a powerful, practical workbook designed to take ophthalmic administrators and practice managers to the next level of their careers, offering practical tips, concrete advice, and a step-by-step guide for any hurdle they face.

Authors Corinne Wohl and John Pinto are undisputed experts in the field, having decades of experience advising ophthalmic practices of all sizes and publishing numerous books and articles on the subject. In this book, Wohl and Pinto guide administrators toward best practices in coaching and developing their entire management team. UP is also a helpful tool for physician leaders (and leaders in training), who can only accomplish their board-level goals through effective lay managers.

UP provides readers with:

• Practical tips on how to create a customized support and development program for each manager and administrator
• A step-by-step process for better problem solving
• Worksheets, insightful self-tests, and scorecards for immediate use as part of a linear career development program

Contents

Dedication
About the Authors
Foreword by Suzanne D. Bruno, MBA
Introduction

Section I    Core Administrator Skills
Chapter 1    Essential Administrator Skills
Chapter 2    The Role of Assertiveness in Effective Practice Administration
Chapter 3    Getting More Done: Organization, Prioritization, Delegation, and Time Management
Chapter 4    Prioritizing Your To-Do List
Chapter 5    Strengthen Your Career and Practice With Accountability Tools
Chapter 6    Encouraging Great Communication
Chapter 7    Making the Shift From Memory to Manuals
Chapter 8    Checklists to Help You Stay Organized and Efficient
Chapter 9    Management’s Role in Boosting Each Patient’s Experience    

Section II    Boosting Career Consciousness and Effectiveness
Chapter 10    Are You Pursuing an Intentional or an Accidental Career?
Chapter 11    What’s the Difference Between an Office Manager and an Administrator?
Chapter 12    The Value of a Mentor at Every Stage of Your Career
Chapter 13    Coaching Up and Down the Ranks to Enhance Practice Performance
Chapter 14    Wohl’s Administrator Success Factors

Section III    Mid-Level Manager Development
Chapter 15    Strong Department Leaders Make Strong Practices
Chapter 16    For Administrators: Working With Each Mid-Level Manager to Create a Personalized Career Development Plan
Chapter 17    Begin With the Ending in Mind: What Level of Management Staff Does Your Practice Need to Succeed in the Future?
Chapter 18    Peer-to-Supervisor Promotions: Transitions and Challenges    
Chapter 19    Wohl’s Rules for Building a Strong Mid-Level Management Team

Section IV    Ophthalmology Is a Team Sport
Chapter 20    How Aligned Is Our Practice?
Chapter 21    Leading Your Team Past the Inevitable Conflicts of Practice Life
Chapter 22    How to Lead More Effective Meetings
Chapter 23    What Makes a Team … Work? Evaluate How Your Teamwork Is Doing
Chapter 24    Create a Staff Team of Engaged “Employee-preneurs”
Chapter 25    Problem Solving and the Benefits (and Limits) of Practice Task Force Committee Work

Section V    People Are at the Heart of Our Job: Human Resources Management
Chapter 26    Fifteen Tips to Avoid Bad Practice Hires
Chapter 27    Optimizing Staff Training
Chapter 28    Motivating Your Practice Staff
Chapter 29    Recognizing Staff Contributions to Your Practice
Chapter 30    Avoiding the High Cost of Staff Turnover Rates
Chapter 31    When Is the Right Time to Terminate an Employee?
Chapter 32    The Importance of Conducting Exit Interviews
Chapter 33    Adding Value to Your Employee Performance Appraisals
Chapter 34    Setting the Tone of Your Practice Culture
Chapter 35    Letting Every Worker Help Your Practice Improve
Chapter 36    The Business Benefits of Workplace Enjoyment
Chapter 37    Human Resources Issues: What Should I Do When …?

Section VI    Meaningful Measurements: Benchmarking Key Performance Indicators
Chapter 38    Math: Your Second Language as Administrator
Chapter 39    Critical Numbers for Data-Driven Decision Making
Chapter 40    Right-Sizing Your Technical Department’s Staffing Levels
Chapter 41    Reducing Practice Labor Costs by Measuring and Improving Staff Turnover and Separation Rates
Chapter 42    Unpolished Clinic Operations? Examine and Smooth Your Patient Flow With This Daily Clinic Review Tool
Chapter 43    How a Pro Forma Helps You See the Future
Chapter 44    Being an Effective Steward of Practice Resources: Conducting “Rounds” on Your Practice’s Support Systems
Chapter 45    A New Benchmark ORUS: Your Ophthalmic Resource Utilization Score
Chapter 46    Improving Your No-Show Rate

Section VII    Leading Together With the Doctors in Your Practice
Chapter 47    Practice Business Problems? Think Like a Doctor
Chapter 48    How Surgeons Can Help Themselves by Helping Their Management Team Thrive
Chapter 49    Perking Up Your Practice Tempo With Greater Operational Agility: How Doctor-Leaders Can Help Their Administrators
Chapter 50    How to Seamlessly Add a New Associate Doctor to Your Practice
Chapter 51    Helping New Physician-Owners Become Better Practice Partners
Chapter 52    Benefits of the Physician–Administrator Dyadic Leadership Model
Chapter 53    For Doctors: On Choosing and Managing the Right Practice Administrator
Chapter 54    A Practice Management Pop Quiz for You and Your Administrator

Appendices    
Appendix A    Administrator Career Satisfaction Rank and Rate
Appendix B    Doctors and Administrators: Actors on the Same Stage

Afterword by Craig N. Piso, PhD
Financial Disclosures
Index

Reviews

“This book is a powerhouse, its uniqueness evident in its design and versatility. With its easy-to-follow workbook style, you can read it cover to cover tackling each task as you go, or you can jump from task to task as they apply to you. . . . Regardless of the situation, this book has the tools needed to skyrocket skill, performance, and career satisfaction all the way to the top.”
—Shawn Carter, COE, OCS, Administrative Eyecare
 “The tools and insights shared in this book have been extremely helpful in elevating my leadership skills as an Administrator along with assisting our management team to become stronger and more well-rounded. This book is always within arm’s reach because of all the multifaceted content.  Must read for all leaders within a medical practice.”
—Vicki Corby, COE, Invision Eye Care Specialists, Lakewood, NJ
 “UP has been the perfect “medicine” enabling our under-developed management structure to catch up with our runaway successful clinical volume. Corinne and John have teamed up to create the perfect recipes to build and buttress your management systems from top to bottom. It provides valuable advice for all levels of your practice… from senior leadership to daily operations on the floor. UP will make your practice soar!”
—Alan Solinsky, MD, Solinsky Eye Care, West Hartford, CT
 “UP is an absolute must-read for every ophthalmic administrator, ophthalmic manager and ophthalmologist. It should be read before launching a practice, while running a practice…it’s a perfect go-to reference for tackling focused practice challenges. The practical examples and case histories in UP will make your practice more successful and your job less stressful.

Although UP focuses on ophthalmology, this book readily applies to every medical specialty.  Every ophthalmology practice should have copies of this book in the hands of every owner and each member of the leadership team.  I am so grateful to be introduced to the teachings in this book.  It has changed how I relate to my patients, my colleagues and my team.”
—Olivia M. Dam, MD, Medical Director and Eye Surgeon, Victoria Eye, Victoria, BC
 “All ophthalmic executives should include a copy of UP as part of their practice improvement toolkit.  It’s a handy reference guide for managing the business of ophthalmology and for cultivating superior leadership skills.”
—Candy Simerson, iCandy Consulting, LLC, Marana, AZ
 “UP is a must-read book for practice administrators, managing partners and mid-level managers. This book takes the reader on a journey through the many complexities and challenges of ophthalmic practice management… and provides the answers! Its step-by-step granular approach to problem-solving is refreshing and helpful for tackling basic through advanced issues. Sometimes you just need some inspiration or a way to get un-stuck…and this book does that and much more.”
—Tammy Griffin, COE, Administrator, VisionFirst Eye Center, Birmingham, AL
 “After reading UP: Taking Ophthalmic Administrators and Their Teams to the Next Level of Skill, Performance and Career Satisfaction, I have a clearer understanding of how to better handle the toughest situations in my position. This book has been a great resource as I transitioned an employee into Lead Ophthalmic Technician. We’ve used the various screening tools and scorecards within the book to drive interpersonal and professional growth. I’d highly recommend that every administrator and practice owner read this entire book to advance professionally."
—Melissa Chiquelin, Office Manager, Insight Retina Consultants, Aurora, CO
 

About the Editors

Corinne Wohl, MHSA, COE is a practice management consultant, executive coach and president of C. Wohl & Associates, Inc. She earned her Master’s of Health Services Administration degree at The George Washington University in Washington, DC, and has 35 years of hospital administration, physician practice management, and health care consulting experience.

Corinne’s passion is to work in a trusting relationship with surgeons and administrators to help advance their life’s work and achieve their personal best. She is best known for bringing her detailed business and clinic operations experience to bear on practices of all sizes, while simultaneously helping clients see the longer term, big picture of where they are taking their enterprises. 

Corinne specializes in ophthalmic leadership effectiveness, practice operations enhancement, financial benchmarking and analysis, management team development, and executive coaching for managers and physician leaders. She enjoys working with a diverse range of clients, from solo practitioners to large institutions.

A featured keynote speaker and program facilitator during her long career in eye care, Corinne is a frequent contributor to Ophthalmology Management, Ocular Surgery News, EyeWorld, Administrative Eyecare, and Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today. She has been an active member of the American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators, including serving as Administrative Eyecare magazine’s editorial board chair and as a member of the National Board for the Certification of Ophthalmic Executives. She holds a certificate from the Yale School of Management.

John B. Pinto is the most-published author in America on ophthalmology practice management topics. He founded J. Pinto & Associates, Inc, in 1979. Since then, he has provided strategic planning, operations, and marketing advice to pharmaceutical companies, basic science centers, hospitals, multispecialty clinics, and single-specialty facilities.

For 40 years, a majority of the firm’s work has served ophthalmic practices ranging from small solo practices to high-volume market leaders, teaching centers, and ophthalmic product companies. He has been active as a practice consultant in North America and Europe and has worked and lectured in South America and Asia.

John is best known as a strategic planning and economic advisor to practices large and small. In addition to covering most dimensions of modern practice operations management, he is a career advisor, providing individual coaching and contract negotiation services to new graduates and midcareer employed ophthalmologists. His professional life today is rounded out with succession planning, practice valuations, partner dispute mediation, merger/acquisition counsel, and leadership development for administrators and physicians.

A prolific writer, Pinto is the author of several books:
John Pinto’s Little Green Book of Ophthalmology, Sixth Edition
Simple: The Inner Game of Ophthalmic Practice Success, Second Edition
Ophthalmic Leadership: A Practical Guide for Physicians, Administrators, and Teams, Second Edition
Turnaround: Twenty-One Weeks to Ophthalmic Practice Survival and Permanent Improvement
Ten Eyecare Practices: Benchmarks for Success
Cash Flow: The Practical Art of Earning More From Your Ophthalmology Practice, written with Anne Rose
The Efficient Ophthalmologist
Legal Issues in Ophthalmology: A Review for Surgeons and Administrators, written with Alan Reider and Allison Shuren
The Women of Ophthalmology, written with Elizabeth Davis, MD
Marketing Your Ophthalmic Practice

John is a member of the editorial boards of Ocular Surgery News, Ophthalmology Management, and Premier Surgeon, and a regular contributor to other eye care publications.